Justice committee  Yes, indeed.

Justice committee  Yes.

Justice committee  I will agree that the criminal justice policies of the United States and this country have had very little effect on the use of drugs or alcohol, either in this country or the United States, historically. That's correct.

Justice committee  I agree that the criminal justice policies of the United States and Canada with respect to drugs and alcohol use have very little to do with whether or not people actually use drugs or alcohol. The good news is that the ending of alcohol prohibition dropped the homicide and viole

Justice committee  No. It's a good first step, because we arrest, currently, some 50,000 people a year for simple possession of cannabis. I think that's a tragic waste of resources and a tragic visitation of consequences upon those people. It's a good first step, but if you want to get serious abou

Justice committee  I would support a system of non-criminal regulated access and control. That doesn't mean that you're going to be able to buy it at the corner store; it means that the government is finally going to take control of this substance instead of ceding its responsibility to gangsters.

Justice committee  That's correct.

Justice committee  Absolutely.

Justice committee  I would support the repeal of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and its replacement with a system of regulated control of production, sale, and access, rather than our current system, which leaves those in the hands of the black market.

Justice committee  Yes.

Justice committee  I was, though I think I made it clear that some of the views expressed were my own.

Justice committee  The Beyond Prohibition Foundation, that's right.

Justice committee  Well, no. The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association is a civil liberties organization that shares some similar attributes with the Beyond Prohibition Foundation, but I would say the foundation is more directly targeted to the issue before this panel today.

Justice committee  I think I largely do, yes.

Justice committee  Oh, absolutely. I think the only success in drug policy we've seen in this country over the last 20 years has been the reduction in youth smoking of tobacco. We achieved that without arresting anybody. We achieved it primarily through moral suasion and education.